John Matthews

John Matthews
South Carolina State Senate District 39
Incumbent
In office
1984-Present
Term ends
November 14, 2016
Years in position	29
Party	Democratic
Compensation
Base salary	$10,400/year
Per diem	$131/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	1984
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
South Carolina State House of Representatives
1975-1984
Personal
Birthday	April 21, 1940
Place of birth	Bowman, SC
Profession	Businessman
Religion	United Methodist
Websites
Office website

John Matthews (b. April 21, 1940) has been a Democratic member of the South Carolina State Senate since 1984, representing the 39th district.

Matthews served in the South Carolina State House from 1975 to 1984. He joined the South Carolina State Senate in 1984. He has served in that position since, representing the 39th district.

Matthews used to be a farmer. Matthews is a retired Elementary School Principal. He is currently a businessman.

Matthews attended South Carolina State College. He went on to attend Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical from 1970 to 1971. In 1972 he attended Lincoln Electrical Institute.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Matthews served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Matthews served on the following committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Matthews served on the following committees:

Issues

I-95 Corridor Authority

Matthews sponsored a bill, S. 211, aims to create the “I-95 Corridor Authority.” The authority would be an effort to bring new businesses to poor counties along Interstate 95.

The bill overwhelmingly passed the House in May 2011 and was returned to the Senate, which will decide whether to concur with the House version.

Elections

2012

See also: South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012

Matthews ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 12 and in the general election on November 6, 2012.

South Carolina State Senate, District 39, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Matthews Incumbent	99.1%	35,945
	Other	Write-Ins	0.9%	315
Total Votes				36,260

2008

Matthews won re-election for District 39 of the South Carolina State Senate with 30,511 votes, ahead of write-ins (142).

He raised $46,229 for his campaign.

South Carolina State Senate, District 39
Candidates		Votes
John Matthews (D)		30,511
Write-ins		142

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2008

Matthews raised $52,492 in the 2008 election cycle.

His top contributor is listed below, and 16 donors gave $1000 each, the next highest contribution amount his campaign received.

Donor	Amount
SCANA Corporation	$1,500

Personal

Matthews and his wife Geraldine have five children.

External links

Suggest a link

• Profile from the South Carolina Legislature
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1996

References

Political offices
Preceded by '	South Carolina State Senate - District 39 1984–present	Succeeded by NA